Keep Walking On
by Anduria Trianys
Summary: Post 'Small Worlds'. Ianto isn't about to let Jack brood in the Hub. There are a few things he needs to say to him first. Jack/Ianto friendship.


Keep Walking On

A shadow of a smile passed over Jack's tired face when he looked at the young man standing in front of him. "Come on; I'll take you home."

But Ianto shook his head. "No."

"What? Ianto, it's late and –"

"And you're coming with me." Ianto held out a hand which Jack took with a rather confused expression on his face. "And don't look at me like that," he added as he led his leader out of the Hub. "You need this and you know you need it."

~*~

_Twenty minutes later…_

The two men eventually came to a halt when, after wandering around the city for a while, they arrived on the rooftop of a disused office block. A bracing wind had sprung up while they had been walking, but it was not so cold that either of them needed to button their coats up.

Ianto watched as Jack ran his fingers through his hair as he looked at the view in front of him. It was getting late, but there were still crowds of people in the streets. He had his hands in his pockets and was holding his head up high, looking every inch the dignified Captain, except for the flickers of confusion that occasionally passed over his face. Finally, Ianto couldn't take any more.

"You know, you can just ask," he said, cautiously so that Jack wouldn't think he was pushing, but with a silent hope that the other man would just ask. "I know you're wondering."

There was a long pause and for a moment, Ianto wondered if Jack really was going to swallow his pride and say anything. But then he turned around slowly and spoke in a quiet voice, full of conflicting emotions.

"What am I doing here?"

Ianto felt his face relax into a slight smile. "You're here because I wasn't about to let you languish and brood in that Hub after today. It's not good for you to be stuck in there on your own." He had to stifle a small laugh as Jack's face momentarily showed pure astonishment. "I guess you weren't expecting me to be the one to say that, were you?"

Jack worked his mouth a few times before he shook his head. "No, I wasn't. But then again, you've said and done a lot of things I wouldn't have expected you to."

The words chilled the air between them for a moment and Jack cringed. "Ianto, I didn't mean –"

"I know," interrupted Ianto. "And even if you had have meant that, I wouldn't have denied it. In fact, that was part of the plan; I didn't want you to expect that I could do something like that. There were even moments where I didn't believe I could do something like that." He paused for a moment and then shook his head. "Actually, that night is part of the reason I brought you here."

"Oh?" Now there was no hiding the curiosity in Jack's tone.

"Yes." Ianto took a deep breath. "I should have done this earlier, but I didn't think there was a time for it." Cautiously, but with a look of certainty in his eyes, he said, "I want to take back some of the things I said that night."

Jack raised an eyebrow slightly. "Like what?"

"Like when I asked if you'd ever loved anyone." The reply was instant; Ianto didn't even have to think about it. "That was a stupid thing to ask; of course you've loved people."

"Yes." Jack's voice was very quiet and Ianto knew he was thinking about Estelle. "I have loved people, Ianto; more people than you know."

"I know. I was wrong to say that, but I only said it in –"

"In the heat of the moment," finished Jack. "I understand. We've all said things we didn't mean in the heat of the moment." He laughed softly. "You don't need to tell me that."

Ianto nodded. "I also wanted to say – and I know you may not believe me, especially after what's happened today – you're not a monster." He smiled as the shock in Jack's expression began to grow and stepped closer to him. "I won't apologise because I can see in your face that you already know that I'm sorry and there's no sense in wasting words. But I will say this."

He waited for Jack to turn round and look at him properly. "You're not a monster, but you're not a superhero, either. You're an ordinary man – an ordinary _human_ – who has been surrounded by some of the most extraordinary circumstances. You make choices none of us could make even if we had eternity. And that brings me to the other reason why I decided to bring you here."

"And what was that?"

Ianto smiled when he saw that the tension in Jack's body was visibly fading. "So you could look around you and see the effect what you do has on everyone here." He pointed at a small restaurant across the road. "Those people in there, having dinner; you're making a difference in their lives, even if they don't realise it. If you hadn't killed Lisa, they might not be here now. And even if you had, but you hadn't let Jasmine go, they wouldn't be here now. None of us would."

Cautiously, he slipped his hand into Jack's. "That's why I brought you here; so you can see that the choices you make to save this planet are worth it. You can sit in that Hub and say that it's worth it, but until you see it with your own eyes, you can't completely believe it, can you?"

"No," answered Jack instantly. He was now almost completely relaxed.

"Come on." Ianto squeezed his hand. "Let's go for a walk."

~*~

_One hour later…_

"Do you want me to stay tonight?" asked Ianto when they finally arrived back on the Plass. "I mean, I know you get lonely when you're on your own down there and I thought you might like some company…even if it's just me – you might want a friend."

For a moment, Jack hesitated as if he wanted to say something, but then he shook his head. "No, you get yourself home. It's late and you've done more than enough for one day."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Jack nodded, but the mention of having a friend by his side had caused a light cloud to cover his eyes once again.

Ianto swallowed. "The others will come round, Jack. I know they will. Don't feel that you have to justify yourself, because you don't. Just go and get some rest." He smiled again. "Out of all of us, you certainly deserve it."

Jack started to turn away and walk onto the lift, but just before he did, he turned back. "Ianto?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"Thank you."

~*~

_The next morning…_

Toshiko took a deep breath as she obeyed Jack's words and entered his office. Even as she shut the door behind her, she could almost feel Ianto's eyes boring into the back of her head.

Jack looked up from the paperwork on his desk. "Morning, Toshiko," he said, greeting her with his usual smile, which quickly faded; he must have seen the troubled look on her face. "Sit down – are you all right?"

Tosh bit her lip for a second as she sat down. "I'm fine," she said quickly, hoping to dispel those fears. "I just wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday – well, not really even that…I just really wanted to apologise."

She waited for Jack to look at her properly before carrying on. "I thought a lot last night and I quickly realised that, not only did you not have a choice in what happened, but also that Jasmine wanted to go in the end."

"Yes," murmured Jack. "She did."

"Can you forgive me for turning on you?"

For a second, Jack looked astonished, but then his face relaxed into a smile. "We all make mistakes, Tosh," he said gently, reaching over to touch her hand. "It's part of what makes us human. Even the brilliant among us make them," he added with a small twinkle in his eye.

Tosh laughed softly. "I'm sorry."

"I forgive you." Jack came over and wrapped her in a hug, stroking her hair for a few minutes. "Now, go on with you – go and be brilliant."

With a blush and a chuckle, Tosh smiled and left her Captain, pausing only to catch Ianto's eye as she made her way back to her desk. He didn't say anything, but merely smiled back at her.

A few moments later, Jack was brought out of his office by the Rift monitor announcing a Weevil sighting near Bute Park. However, just before he left, his eyes met Ianto's and he smiled, one of the most genuine smiles Tosh had seen in a long time. When she looked at Ianto, she was shocked but pleased to see that his smile mirrored that of her Captain's. In those few seconds, it was as if they were talking in a language only they could understand. Then, Jack tipped her a roguish wink and blew out of the Hub after the Weevil.

Neither Tosh nor Ianto said anything, but both of them felt better for seeing their leader pick himself up and keep walking on.


End file.
